


luchtkasteel

by orphan_account



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Christmas Spirit, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8913994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: luchtkasteel: 'air castle'; a wish or dream one hopes to fulfill in the future, yet will never be achieved, as it is so vast, immense and unlikely. 
      Jace was still rambling about his plans for the celebrations and Alec couldn’t help but look at him, surprised to see him so invested in the period’s festivities.





	

Alec was a dreamer. Not that anyone would know, of course, although he suspected Izzy knew of it, somehow – she always seemed to know what was going on with him. Some of his dreams were pretty average, given his position: leading the Institute on his own, being the best Shadowhunter he could, having his family around him… but the others weren’t, as they involved having Jace at his side.

As _parabatai_ , everyone expected them to be close together, always in the same vicinity – expect when they were fighting or Valentine was implicated – but it wasn’t in the way Alec meant. Not the only way, in any case.

His parents could tolerate a dalliance with a man – and preferably not a Downworlder, but they had made an exception for that – but they would never accept him if he committed the crime of _eros_. And neither would the Clave, with repercussions that were more worrying than anything his parents could come up – not that they would, but he couldn’t be sure of that.

It certainly wasn’t the kind of tradition he could change on his own – no matter how much he hoped for it…

“– and Clary thought it was a good idea to get some decorations for the Institute. Honestly could you imagine everyone’s reactions?”

Alec snorted before looking fondly at his _parabatai_. The four of them had escaped from the Institute for a few hours, to shop for gifts – according to that one mundane tradition – and although it had been pleasant to become one with the crowd, people ignoring them in the rush, they had finally parted ways at some point, the girls claiming to have some very important – and _mysterious_ – business to attend without them.

Alec wasn’t sure Izzy hadn’t tried to set him up. She had been trying to get him alone with Jace on numerous occasions in the past few months, and he couldn’t exactly blame her for her efforts – those were almost the only moments where they had been able to spend some much needed time together, just the two of them. War seldom let them afford that kind of luxury.

“I’m sure the Clave’s envoy would be delighted to find his office covered in lights,” Alec offered with a dry tone, and was rewarded with the glorious sound of Jace’s laugh.

It had been too long since he had last heard it – carefree and innocent.

“Maybe we should hang some in our rooms anyway,” Jace suggested after a bit, looking at the decoration on the stores’ windows. “It would be nice, right? A bit hopeful.”

Alec nodded, trying to imagine how it would all turn out. Mundane decorations weren’t exactly forbidden at the Institute, looked at with disdain and sneer at worst, and temporary lights like those could not exactly be refused… not when everyone for scrapping for reasons to believe in the future.

“Maybe we should try to do something with everyone, like, dinner or something? Not at the Institute, I’m sure Luke can’t get in and I don’t think your parents would want to see Magnus around, but perhaps somewhere else?”

Jace was still rambling about his plans for the celebrations and Alec couldn’t help but look at him, surprised to see him so invested in the period’s festivities. They had never done much since to celebrate the winter’s solstice when they were younger – not a family tradition in any way – but somehow, it looked really appealing to celebrate something together this time. At least only the fact that _they were together_ – that no one was dead or away.

Jace bumped his shoulder onto Alec’s to get his attention, and smiled a little when his _parabatai_ turned towards him, a soft smile on his lips.

“You’re mulling things over again,” Jace pointed out, not unkindly. “You know Izzy said our trip is supposed to help us get our mind off what’s going on, right?”

“I know,” Alec mumbled, not quite looking at him in the eyes.

It was easier to concentrate on the war and its consequences than on the fact he still wanted to kiss Jace – after all these years and a failed attempt at a relationship with Magnus.

Jace nudged him, nothing forceful in the gesture, before almost falling on him, the crowd pushing them against a wall. His hands ended up on each side of Alec’s body but neither seemed to notice, too busy looking at the source of the commotion. There seemed to be some kind of big attraction at the end of the street – a parade, maybe? – but they preferred to remain where they were, watching the mundanes walk around them, obviously indifferent to them.

It had been a long time since Alec had last gotten an armful of Jace, but the feeling still was as pleasant as usual. His _parabatai_ might have thinned up a bit since the war had broken, but his clothes did nothing to hide the firmness of body – or its natural warmth. Stuck as he was between the wall and Jace, it was hard to hide how he was feeling – and Jace seemed to be as oblivious as usual, which was probably for the best. Wouldn’t want to start a conversation about _feelings_ in the middle of a very crowded street…

Jace moved a little, so as he wasn’t lying atop Alec’s body but rather standing in front of him, as close as possible without attracting anyone’s attention – which, given the day, was not difficult. His hands weren’t on each side of his _parabatai_ anymore but rather strengthening his jacket, although there was no need for it this time – but hey, at least, it gave him composure.

“Maybe we should get somewhere a little less crowded,” he suggested without moving, looking at Alec, and stroking his jacket in slow moves.

“Maybe,” Alec offered without really meaning it, barely listening to the words.

The position was almost too intimate for him to be comfortable, but on the other hand, it was difficult to move away – to shy away from Jace’s eyes and the way the lights around them managed to make them look even more beautiful than usual.

He was screwed. _So screwed._

“We should get some coffee somewhere,” Jace went on, his hands finally slowing down before stilling at his sides. “I’m sure we could find a shop not too busy if we walk away from the crowd…”

They were more used to run after demons in the streets of New-York rather than really looking at their surroundings to know what kind of shops there were everywhere, but he was certain there was a little coffee shop not too far away, as long as they left the main streets. If they were lucky – and they had been so far – they would manage to find themselves a booth mostly hidden from the view and then…

Alec hummed, the intensity of his eyes almost too much to bear, before the buzz of his phone broke the moment, to their utter disappointment.

“That sounds like a pretty good plan,” Alec agreed while opening his phone, an eyebrow rising in front of the name. “Hey, Iz. No, no, we’re fine, we just –”

Jace took a step back, suddenly regretting not having made his move a bit earlier. If they were supposed to be meeting with the girls again…

“Mmh. Mmh. Yeah, we saw it – almost got crushed, by the way, people really are unable to look where they’re going. Nevermind.”

The atmosphere seemed to be colder, all of a sudden, and Jace was abruptly really eager for a coffee. Coffee, or something else. Apparently, people had been creating some crazy versions of regular coffee – with pumpkin and cinnamon and vanilla, but not all in one. Hopefully. Pumpkin in his coffee was not something he was looking forward to.

“Yeah, I’ll text you the address once we get there. Take your time, Iz.”

Jace raised his eyes towards Alec, patiently waiting for an explanation, even though he already had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen. Their time together was soon coming to an end.

“Our mission, should we choose to accept,” and the little smirk was really nice to see, “is to find a coffee shop that’s not too crowded and to text the address to the girls. You okay with that?”

“Fine for me,” Jace murmured, and he perked up a little at the softness in Alec’s eyes.

He might have been a little transparent here, but hey, he had hoped for some quality time alone with his _parabatai_ , not with Izzy and Clary playing chaperon next to them.

(Or were they supposed to be playing chaperon to Izzy and Clary? It was hard to say, honestly, because, Raziel be thanked, no one had ever expected _them_ to play chaperon on Izzy’s date – she knew how to take care of herself, after all.)

Finding a quiet coffee shop turned out to be easier than expected in the middle of December, but Jace suspected the place wasn’t _only_ for mundanes. He was pretty sure a couple of vampires were lounging in the place, their pale skin easily explained by the soft lightning of the shop. It was easy enough to find a booth away from the window, but from where they still had a good view of the various exits, and Jace settled down while Alec was texting the address to his sister.

He took his jacket and his sweatshirt in one move, running too hot to keep any more clothes than was strictly necessary. The shop was magic enough that he didn’t need to worry about hiding his runes, and even if one of the patrons raised an eyebrow at him, he ignored the reaction. Getting his hands on the menu was far more important: he had business to attend, and with any luck, he could find something to share with Alec, with the appropriate amount of necessary joking beforehand.

Coffee didn’t seem to be _too_ extravagant here – at least there wasn’t any pumpkin, from what he could see. The addition of cinnamon and chocolate did seem to be interesting, on the other hand, and there was also a recipe with marshmallows that was very tempting…

“They should join us in fifteen minutes, I think,” Alec said a few seconds after sitting down, careful of the way he was taking off his jacket before putting it down next to him – and Jace sure as hell hadn’t been looking at the way his shirt had moved over his shoulders at the same time.

Not at all.

“So it’s only the two of us for now, right?” he asked, not realizing the look of utter fondness on his face, but very aware that his _parabatai_ was enjoying the view.

That made two of them, then.

“It leaves us with more time to order,” Alec suggested with a little smile, his eyebrow rising in a somewhat challenging way, and Jace couldn’t help but laugh.

He moved slightly to the side, trying to get closer, and felt warmth blossom in his chest as Alec met him midway through his move, their shoulders bumping into one another. It was nice, sitting there together, the low rumble of the conversations around them making for a nice background noise. There was something utterly familiar in their position, even though they had never been to a coffee shop – and it certainly would be an experience to repeat.

Alec pointedly didn’t mention the mistletoe stuck over them, not eager to know what was hiding behind that particular mundane tradition. Their little bubble together was too enjoyable to be broken over such a silly question – especially when they only had a few minutes alone left. It was best to make the most of it – be carefree and innocent and _happy_ , side by side, as much as they could. Jace smiling gently at him was a memory Alec wanted to hold and treasure forever, too lost in the view to realize he hadn’t feel so peaceful in a long time.

Getting into that coffee shop really had been a good idea.   


End file.
